Staffing and other problems with 911 centers are not new here or nationally. A 2005 national study found that, “Even though there may be long periods of stability, turnover is normal and planning for it needs to be part of the routine.”

In 2004, when 911 was run by Dallas Fire-Rescue, a police operational review concluded that officers were “being sent blindly into hazardous situations” because of shortcomings with the 911 system.

The next year, a Dallas City Council-commissioned efficiency study recommended that the 911 call center operation be transferred from the Fire Department to the Police Department.

A May 2006 story in The Dallas Morning News detailed numerous failings with the 911 system, including that overworked operators were struggling to handle massive numbers of calls and that incorrect and incomplete information had been passed from call takers to police officers in the field.

At that time, the center had about 130 call takers who handled 3.6 million emergency and nonemergency calls annually. Fire officials blamed many of those shortcomings on the additional responsibility of answering nonemergency 311 calls at the call center, but without enough staffing.

The city later separated nonemergency operations from the 911 call center, and police took over management of 911 in October 2008.